Detroit Pistons sign Josh Smith to four-year deal

Josh Smith has signed a four-year, $54 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, officially ending a nine-year tenure with his hometown Atlanta Hawks.

According to the AP, Joe Dumars, the Pistons’ president of basketball operations, considers Smith to be a two-way player who can blend in with the team’s young core; at 27, Smith is currently the oldest player on Detroit’s roster, and he will likely start up front with 23-year-old Greg Monroe and last year’s first-round pick, Andre Drummond, who turns 20 in August.

Last season, Smith contributed a team-high 17.5 points per game to go along with 8.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.8 blocks for the Hawks, and he holds career averages of 15.3 points, 8.3 boards, 3.2 assists and 2.1 blocks per game.

Smith, who clashed with Atlanta management last season and was even suspended for a game in January for “conduct detrimental to the team,” was heavily rumored to be in the sights of the Brooklyn Nets at last year’s trade deadline, and Brooklyn was also thought to be a possible destination for him this summer until the Nets agreed to the blockbuster deal with the Celtics earlier this month that will bring Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to NYC.